by Nawal El Saadawi (Egypt)
Paperback ISBN: 9780755651481
Pages: 152

Firdaus is awaiting execution in a Cairo prison. When a psychiatrist is granted permission to interview her, she tells the story of her life—one marked by poverty, abuse, exploitation, and the rigid constraints placed on women in Egyptian society. Yet Firdaus’s story is not simply one of suffering. It is also a declaration of self-knowledge and defiance.

Originally published in Arabic in 1975, Woman at Point Zero draws on a real encounter that Nawal El Saadawi had with a woman imprisoned for murder. The novel unfolds as Firdaus’s testimony, exposing the intersecting forces of patriarchy, class, and power that shape her life. Spare, direct, and fiercely political, the book has become a landmark of feminist literature and a powerful exploration of dignity, agency, and resistance.

About the author

Nawal El Saadawi (1931–2021) was an Egyptian writer, physician, and feminist activist. She studied medicine at Cairo University and later worked as a psychiatrist and public health official. Over the course of her career she wrote more than fifty books—including novels, memoirs, and works of political and feminist theory—many of which were translated into dozens of languages. Her outspoken criticism of gender inequality and authoritarianism led to censorship, dismissal from government posts, and imprisonment, but also made her one of the most influential feminist voices in the Arab world.

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